Dealing with a bad finals grade can be an emotional period. It can be very easily compared to the stages of grief. Here's what the six stages of receiving a bad finals grade are.
Denial
There is no way you butchered this final that bad. Whether you studied all night or are in the highest ranks when it comes to guessing, you could not have made a grade this bad. Maybe the teacher gave you the wrong grade, or you took the wrong test. No matter what there's no way this is your final grade.
Anger
What. The. Hell. This is the most emotion-filled stage in my opinion. Your mad at your professor, your mad at yourself, and your mad everyone who actually got a good grade on the final. You quickly find every flaw in your professors teaching style and hate him for it. Then you get mad at yourself for not preparing better for the exam. And once you've run out of anger to dish out on people you move onto the next stage.
Bargaining
You can fix this. You gotta fix this. Initiate the plea full email sent to your professor detailing why you can't fail this class and how your professor needs to reason with you. It wouldn't hurt to send a prayer to the big man upstairs, maybe he'll soften your professor's heart for the holidays. Even better he might bless you with a scenario where everyone gets a 100 on their final because your professors got busted intentionally failing his/her students... ok maybe that's a stretch.
Depression
Well, this sucks. The semester seemed like a blast before this. What's the point of leaving your dorm room, or calling your loved ones. Sad music is the best kind of music anyway. Do professors even care about our well being? Be careful not to get too caught up in your thoughts in this stage, it can be pretty bad.
Acceptance
You know what, it's whatever. It is what it is. You're just glad to be done with the class. Everyone makes mistakes In college anyway, you rather it be a bad finals grade than some of the other stories you've heard around campus. It's behind you, you've moved on.
Forgetting
Party! Enjoy the final stage of this drawn out and tedious process. There is nothing you can do to change it, so in full college spirit, don't look back, get your mind off things, and just enjoy the moment.
